Chapter 321: Past Events of Lü Bu

"So, the most important thing for us right now is to serve His Majesty well!"

Zhang Liao also sighed with emotion to Xi Zhicai.

"Enough, it's better if we talk less about these things in the future. Let's continue on our way. We are quite far from Bingzhou; even to reach the nearest Shangjun, it will take five days!"

Xi Zhicai remained more cautious and immediately interrupted Zhang Liao's words, and the two began to chat about military affairs again.

"The Military Advisor is right, we won't speak of these things again. By the way, I heard the defender of Shangjun is Niu Fu's younger brother, Niu Gao, and he has two thousand men stationed there?"

Zhang Liao immediately changed the subject and asked Xi Zhicai about the situation in Bingzhou.

"Yes, this Niu Gao has no real ability; his martial strength is merely that of a third-rate general, and the two thousand troops stationed there are not very strong in combat power either."

"It is said that this Niu Gao is actually Niu Fu's cousin!"

To be honest, Xi Zhicai did not understand Dong Zhuo's arrangements. How could two such fools be allowed to guard Bingzhou, a place the Xiongnu coveted?

Was this not the same as handing Bingzhou over to the Xiongnu on a silver platter?

Although Bingzhou was not as wealthy as other provinces and commanderies, it was, after all, a border region of the Great Han.

They should have been scrambling to send powerful troops to guard it; how could they send such people to defend against the Xiongnu!

"Hmph, isn't it all because they climbed the ranks through connections? Back then, if it weren't for Fengxian wanting to take revenge, why would he have cooperated with Dong Zhuo? Does a person like Dong Zhuo even deserve our loyalty?"

Hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Zhang Liao immediately snorted coldly and said with disdain.

"What! General, are you saying that General Lü Bu killed Ding Yuan for the sake of revenge, and not for the Red Hare horse?"

Hearing this from Zhang Liao, Xi Zhicai was shocked. How could this be different from the rumors?

Wasn't it said that Lü Bu defected to Dong Zhuo's camp and killed his foster father Ding Yuan for the sake of a Red Hare horse?

How was it that now, listening to Zhang Liao, there seemed to be some hidden story behind it?

"That goes without saying. Otherwise, do you think Fengxian would really kill Ding Yuan for a Red Hare horse? If he did, would we still be following him so loyally?"

Zhang Liao understood Xi Zhicai's surprise; after all, Lü Bu had never explained the matter, and few people knew the truth.

Back then, they had urged Lü Bu to tell the world the truth, but Dong Zhuo had stopped him.

Later, the story that Lü Bu killed his foster father Ding Yuan for the Red Hare horse spread throughout the world. Even if they wanted to explain, without evidence, the people of the world would not believe them.

"Back then, few people knew the truth. Fengxian used to have a younger sister. When we joined the army, we all joined Ding Yuan's forces together, hoping to kill the Xiongnu and protect our home and country."

"Unexpectedly, during a battle with the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu sent a surprise force to raid Wuyuan Commandery. Ding Yuan was in the city at the time, and to save his own life, he abandoned the people in the city."

"At that time, he had five thousand troops, yet he was so frightened by two thousand Xiongnu that he fled without a fight. And Fengxian's sister was in the city at that time."

"By the time we repelled the Xiongnu and arrived, the entire city had been burned, looted, and pillaged by the Xiongnu, and Fengxian's sister had died at the hands of the Xiongnu at that time."

"Ding Yuan felt ashamed of his actions, so he ordered people to seal off the news."

"From that moment on, we all had a different opinion of Ding Yuan, and he, in turn, began thinking of how to get rid of us."

"It just so happened that He Jin called Ding Yuan to the capital to 'protect the Emperor,' and Ding Yuan came to Luoyang. You know what happened after that."

Zhang Liao spoke with a calm expression, telling Xi Zhicai the whole story in one breath.

After finishing, Zhang Liao looked at Xi Zhicai, who was standing to the side with a dazed expression and slightly parted lips, and waved his hand in front of him.

With the corners of his mouth slightly raised and a smile on his face, he said, "What? Do you find it hard to believe?"

Hearing Zhang Liao's words, Xi Zhicai finally came to his senses. Looking at the expression on Zhang Liao's face, he knew he was being made a fool of.

He immediately retorted to Zhang Liao in an annoyed tone, "This... hearing such a thing so suddenly, I don't think anyone could remain calm!"

"The story you told is simply too unbelievable!"

Looking at the stubborn Xi Zhicai, Zhang Liao did not refute him, just watched him with a smile.

Xi Zhicai felt his skin crawl under Zhang Liao's gaze and said irritably, "I say, Great General Zhang, what kind of look is that? Let me tell you, I am a normal man, don't you go getting any ideas about me!!!"

Hearing this from Xi Zhicai, the smile on Zhang Liao's face vanished. He looked at Xi Zhicai in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape, and pointed at him with a trembling hand.

His voice even trembled as he struggled to speak, "No, I'm asking, how can a person be as shameless as you? Is that what I meant?"

"Hehehe, I just didn't want to see that look on your face. Who told you to make a fool of me?"

Seeing that Zhang Liao was genuinely annoyed, Xi Zhicai decided to stop while he was ahead and immediately said with a smile.

"However, Ding Yuan was not what I expected. It seems he deceived everyone in the world!"

No longer joking with Zhang Liao, Xi Zhicai put away his smile and said with a solemn expression.

"Hehehe, that's because you never had any contact with him. Otherwise, I'm afraid you wouldn't have been able to stop yourself from killing him!"

Hearing Xi Zhicai say this, Zhang Liao was accustomed to it and said indifferently.

"So, Ding Yuan's previous image of justice was all deliberately forged? I just don't know how a person like him agreed to He Jin's request to enter the capital?"

Ignoring Zhang Liao's expression, Xi Zhicai thought about Ding Yuan's actions and asked, quite puzzled.

"Hehe, that brings us to his shameless motives. At the time, he only wanted to come and build a reputation to gain merit for future promotions."

"He just wanted to come to Luoyang to join in the excitement, but he never expected that coming here would cost him his life!"

Speaking of this, Zhang Liao felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart. Back then, the relationship between them and Lü Bu was very good.

Therefore, everyone loved Lü Bu's sister as well, and the latter was quite sensible, so everyone had long treated her as their own younger sister.

They never expected that the sister they cherished so much would lose her life in vain because of Ding Yuan's cowardice.

That was why, when Lü Bu killed Ding Yuan, they did not stop him; in fact, they even applauded.

It was just that they hadn't expected that the thief Dong Zhuo would be so shameless.

"Then why did Dong Zhuo want to ruin General Lü's reputation back then?"

Regarding Dong Zhuo's actions, even with Xi Zhicai's intelligence, he was completely baffled. ===== CHAPTER 322 =====